I realize that I have been MIA for the past couple of months, however, I have an excuse!!!!

I left my job, got married, went on a honeymoon and came back and started a new job.  All this left little time for blogging (and cooking for that matter). So, I am back in action and am going to try to be a little more consistent.  To start things off I thought I would share the recipes from my most recent Baking Club gathering.  This month the theme was “seasonal with a twist”.  A cool topic and everyone did a great job taking a flavor or dish and changing it up a bit.  Unfortunately, I didn’t snap any pictures but one of our bakers, Becca did and they can be found on her blog http://www.bustabecca.com/.

I will start things off with my recipe, which was technically a FLOP.  I did not achieve what I set out to do but may have found a quick, easy, impressive snack in the mean time.  I set out to make RED WINE CARAMEL APPLES , unfortunately, I started this project at about 7:00 on Sunday evening and I did not have a candy thermometer.  I followed the recipe up till simmering all ingredients together as the recipe said because my caramel was starting to smell overdone.  Therefore, my caramel was too thin and although I thought a miracle might occur I dipped the whole apples anyway.  Needless to say I had caramel dripping off the apples onto my kitchen island and onto the floor.  Sooooo, I kept the left over caramel and sliced the apples into wedges and served it as a “dip”.  It worked well and was a hit.  Although no real baking was involved it fits the criteria of “sweets”.  This recipe prompted a long discussion regarding caramel, through which we all learned a little something new 🙂

The following recipes were prepared by other members.  Everyone seemed to find them online, which makes it easy to just give you the links.  There are a few notes regarding what was changed.  I hope you get a chance to try some!!!

Apple Pie Cookies – added a few pinches of nutmeg.

Pumpkin Chowder – used 1/2 tsp of DRIED Marjoram instead of fresh.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies – used less butter for the icing and added nutmeg and ginger to the frosting.

And finally…

Gingerbread Pancakes

• 3 ½ cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups buttermilk
• ¼ cup butter (melted)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup maple syrup

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined—do not over mix. Warm a greased griddle on medium heat. Cook the pancakes until golden brown and cooked through in the middle. Serve with plenty of Vermont maple syrup.